Gods Rival: Money - Part 2

Today on Fellowship in the Word, Pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. The second one is just, it's obvious what he's making his point. And who of you, by being worried, can add a single hour long to his life? See, I want to live a long time, so I want to worry every day of my life.

Because that will get you there. Now we do know one thing through studies now, right? It can shorten your life. Worry can shorten my life, but it can't lengthen it.

There's nothing I can do. You see, he's not talking about this God knows all the days of our life, that's a different issue. But he's saying, worry has no benefit. There is no benefit to worry at all.

No one has benefited, and surely not you. Thank you for joining us today on this edition of Fellowship in the Word with Pastor Bill Gebhardt. Fellowship in the Word is the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible Church located in Metairie, Louisiana.

Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now as once again he shows us how God's Word meets our world. Now what's interesting to me is that once you start to worry, and by the way, one of the great things about worry, the English word worry comes from the German word for worry. And the German word for worry means the strangle. So you get yourself by the neck gasping for air because you're worrying. The other thing is when you worry, do you ever notice how it preoccupies all your thoughts?

It just starts overwhelming you. You wake up in the middle of the night, oh, here I come again. I'm going to start worrying.

You see, oh, I couldn't sleep. I was worrying. You know, it's just worry. It covers everything.

Let me illustrate maybe a way of looking at worry. If you took seven city blocks, seven city average blocks, and on those seven blocks there was a dense fog, sort of like zero visibility, really dense fog, do you know how much water it takes to create that dense of fog over seven city blocks? One glass. I read that. I was stunned.

One glass of water creates enough moisture to give you seven blocks of fog. And that tells you what a little worry does because it covers everything else in your life. You become preoccupied about it.

And if you become preoccupied and you don't get out of it, then you have, we have new terms for this, then you become clinically depressed because worry has consumed you. And Jesus is saying, why are you worrying? Tell me, as a child of God, you tell me why you worry. So he's going to start now with giving us four reasons about worry, why we shouldn't worry. The first one's implied in verse twenty five. Worry is unfaithful because of our master. It's pretty simple when you think about it. If our master and Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said, don't worry.

What should we do? I mean, seriously. See, you don't want to say, no, he doesn't understand.

I think he does. You see, but he said, don't worry. And you say, well, just I just can't help it.

He's going to say, but why? See, why is it that you can't help it? If you think about worry, what's what's the opposite of worry? Contentment. Contentment is exactly the opposite of worry. And if you worry a lot, what what do you just pray that you would be content? And there's another thing, content people don't worry.

It's in the definition. That's why they're content. Remember the apostle Paul? He said, I've learned the secret of contentment. I've learned to be content when I have a lot. I've learned to be content when I have nothing. I've learned to be content in a palace or in a prison. I've learned the secret of contentment. And then he goes on and said, here's the secret.

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. So Paul was content. He was content standing before his judges. He was content on death row. He was content when he's led to be beheaded. He was content. No worry.

Oh, they coming for me now? None of that. You see. Who was his priority? How did he gauge his life? All through his Lord. So that was not a problem for him. He knew the secret of contentment.

So after he does this, he goes on then. And it's interesting that when you think about it from our point of view, almost everything in our culture is trying to make you not content. You see, I just said that with my phone. But it's everything.

Just just watch commercials. I mean, it's an amazing thing. Even if you're taking a drug. They make you not content because there's a better drug. Like I have 18 years of good blood pressure.

Yeah, but there's a better one than what you have. Maybe I should take that. Maybe that's what I should be doing because they keep telling me it's going to be better for me. I mean, I just saw one a couple of months ago and they've been running that no matter how depressed you are, they have a booster antidepressant pill.

And it'll make you less depressed even in your antidepressant pill will. That's the way it works. Everything about our shopping is based on discontent. I'm not content. Years ago, one of the great humorists in the history of American humor is Irma Baumbach. She's now died some years ago, but just read her books. She's hilarious. She talks about the pressure that shopping puts on her.

And she says this. I did as I was told. I was fussy about my peanut butter. I fought cavities.

I became depressed over yellow wax buildup. I was responsible for my husband's underarms being protected for at least 12 hours. I was I was responsible to make sure that my children had well-balanced breakfast.

I alone, she said, was carrying the burden of my dog's shiny coat. We believe that if we converted to all these products that marched before our eyes, we could be the best, the sexiest, the freshest, the cleanest, the thinnest, the smartest, and the first in our block to finally be regular. Purchasing for the entire family was the most important thing I had to do. That just describes us.

Tom Sign, on the basis of what she wrote, said this. In our upwardly mobile lifestyles, being good consumers is for many of us the most important thing we do. Shopping has become a major league time, a major league time activity for many. Increasingly, our sense of identity and self-worth and our integrity is connected to what we buy. We have come to really believe we are what we own. He said, and that more than what we own, the more we own, the better we are. Our entire view of a better future is largely seen in materialistic terms that we consume.

That's America. And that's why it's so easy to get into this and start thinking about all this stuff. So worry is unfaithful because of our master.

Secondly, worry is unnecessary because of our Father and how He cares for us. He said, look at the birds of the air. They do not sow, they do not reap, they don't gather in barns. And yet your Heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not worth much more than they? Now think about that. Can a bird sow? No. Do they reap? No. Do they have barns to store stuff, like squirrels? No.

They do have to gather. But when's the last time you've been noticing all the birds in your yard and how skinny they are? Tell me how many really skinny birds you've seen. That bird doesn't look right.

He's so skinny. Now they don't eat a lot at a time. If you watch them, they pull a little seed out. But there they are. His point is, now let me ask you, does your Father care about you more than he does a bird?

Well, of course. Then why are you worrying? Tell me this, why are you worrying? If He provides for the bird, what about you?

The second one is just, it's obvious what he's making his point. And who of you, by being worried, can add a single hour on to his life? See, I want to live a long time, so I want to worry every day of my life.

Because that will get you there. Now, we do know one thing through studies now, right? It can shorten your life. Worry can shorten my life, but it can't lengthen it. There's nothing I can do. You see, he's not talking about this God knows all the days of our life.

That's a different issue. But he's saying, worry has no benefit. There is no benefit to worry at all.

No one has benefited, and surely not you. He said, it doesn't offer us anything in return. And then he moves right on again.

And he says after that, and why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow. They do not toil, they do not spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all of his glory would close himself like one of these. One of the things I'm most grateful for that we should never assume, I thank God for the creation of color. I mean, if we didn't have that, our whole lives would look like a 1950s black and white movie.

That's just the way everything would look. But color enhances and changes everything. It's just an amazing thing. And it's amazing about flowers. If you look at a whole group of wildflowers, and I can still remember that we were in Central Texas at one time when the bluebells were coming out, the bluebells. It was hillsides, and it was so spectacular. This is beautiful. But the other thing that intrigues me about a flower is put a magnifying glass on and look at it up close. It's incredible.

The colors are just incredible. And he said, not even Solomon, who had unbelievable wisdom and incredible wealth, he never looked this good. Not at all.

And why would you worry about your clothing or your sustenance? He goes on then after that and says, but if God so closed the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will he not much more clothe you? Of course. Now he gets to the point. Look at that last phrase. Why do we worry?

There it is. You have little faith. You want to know why you worry? You don't have faith. You know why you worry? You don't trust God. You don't.

That's why you're worried. I don't know what he's going to do. I don't know if he can do this. I don't know if he can.

Well, let's start out. He's God. You see, why would I not trust God? Because what Jesus is saying is, look, see, your whole idea is, look, I don't need God.

I need $3,000. You see, that's what I need right now and that'll do it. And he's like, you missed the point.

You see, you've missed it completely. Why are you worried? You see, birds don't worry.

You see, flowers don't worry. Look at the provision of them. And he said, they're not even remotely comparable to you. You're my children.

I love you. Why would you not think this? Why would you get involved in worrying about this? And the only reason I think we do is real simple. I think we do because we think we see life through the value materialistically and temporally.

We think that's the most important thing in our life. It's not. Nothing. It's not.

Not at all. Forever. You see, in a certain context, none of this makes sense. Over the years, I've said these things over and over and over again to try to establish this. But I'll say things like, I read the end of the book, you win. OK, why would I tell you that?

Because that's your future. You see, the only thing that can stop you from enjoying that truth is what? Little faith. I'm not sure I believe that. But then you'll reap what you sow.

You see, you can't. The worst thing that could happen to you, that can't happen to you. I don't care what a doctor says. You see, I could be laying in intensive care, and one thought in my mind is, he said, it looks like you've got a few hours. And I said, well, that's great because I'll be absent in the body and present with the Lord.

So you're not going to try to force me to worry now, are you? You see, because this life is so much different and so much longer and broader, not because of me, but because of him. That's where my faith is. And Jesus said, don't mix your faith up.

Don't allow money to be the rival of God in your life. So he uses these kind of obscure things. Interesting how he goes about this. He then says, do not worry then saying what will we eat, what will we drink, and what we will wear for clothing. He said, Gentiles, that's ethnos, and that would be unbelievers. He said, for, he said, the unbelievers eagerly seek all these things, for your Heavenly Father knows what you need. That you need all these things.

In other words, when I worry, who do I act like? Someone who doesn't know God. And I get it. For someone who believes there's just this life and just this world and that's all there is or ever will be, they're going to get everything they can out of this world and all their value is based on what they have in this world. There's no other reason for them.

He says, no, that's not the case at all. Hampton Keely III said this, for the child of God that lived like the world, which has no faith or hope in a personal relationship with God through Christ, is truly unbecoming for the child of God, whose life should be anchored in these three marvelous truths. One, the finished work of Christ, rejoicing in the fact that I have salvation for my sin. Two, the eternal treasures and heavenly hope kept by the power of God to be revealed at the return of Christ for me. And three, the fact that we stand under an omniscient, omnipotent care of a loving Heavenly Father. See, a lot of fathers love, but they're not omniscient. When does God know you need something? He's always known. What is God's capacity to produce what you need?

Unlimited. Well, you have to really care, so how much does God care about you? He loves you more than anyone could. See, those are facts, but what if you don't believe those? Then you worry.

Then I'm going to worry. See, I don't think, I don't believe those. So, he gets to verse 33, summarizing this point, and he starts out with a strong contrast, and another commandment, but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. What does that mean? What's his kingdom?

Oh, I guess I should be seeking his second company. Those are all true things, but that's not what it means. What I want to seek when I seek God's kingdom is God's rule in my life. I want God to rule in my life. So, if my God says to me, do that, I want to do that.

If he says, don't do that, I won't do that. I want to seek God's kingdom in my life. Secondly, and his righteousness. Think of this, we're being conformed to the image of his son. Starts the day after we get saved, that same day, we start being conformed.

We'll ultimately be conformed when we're all face to face with the Lord. I want to be like my Savior. You see, so I want to be righteous. He said, yeah, you do those two things. You see, you do those two things. You want God to rule in your life, and you want to be righteous just like Jesus. And if you do that, notice the condition, and all these things will be added to you.

But it's conditional. So, I wonder for some of us, maybe some of the things aren't being added to us. Why? Because we choose to worry.

Why? Because we see world materialistically, rather than from God's point of view. He said, but if you seek this, he says, notice, all these things will be added unto you. God says, I will take care of you. And then he goes on and says, so, do not worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble in his own.

Worries unwise. You see, someone wrote a long time ago that most Christians live a life crucified between two thieves, when the one side is the past, and all they have is regrets. And it just sucks the life out of them. All the terrible things I've done. I have so many regrets, so many bad choices I've made. But isn't that the beauty of our faith? Didn't the Bible say the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end?

They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. You know what God thinks about your past? It's forgiven. It's forgotten.

He buried it at sea. He'll remember it no more. So why are you remembering it?

Why are you dealing with this? You see, you end up with regrets. See, if I focus on that, golly, if I focus on every terrible choice and bad thing I've done in my life, I would become clinically depressed. But the other side of it is, too. On the other side of the person who's being crucified is the future.

And all we do is worry about it. What if this happens? What if that happens?

What could be like? I've read surveys on this, and they depend. They're a little bit variable. But how many things that we worry about actually happen? And the ones I've read said somewhere between 90 and 96 percent, or 97 percent, of all the things we worry about never happen. But that doesn't stop us from worrying. And that's tomorrow. Worry always lives in the future.

It's not in the present. It could be a few minutes in the future or a few months or a year. I'm worried about this.

He says, why would you do this? Why would you preoccupy yourself with the past or with the future? He says, each day has enough trouble on its own. The point is that worrying about tomorrow robs us to the ability to handle the potentials, the blessings, and the problems of the day. We have to live one day at a time.

See, that becomes the most important thing. Have you ever run into something where you heard a story about someone you knew and they went through some catastrophic thing? Just catastrophic. Their spouse died in an auto accident. They find out their child was diagnosed with leukemia.

It's just stuff like that. And you think, and you meet them, and they seem to be handling it in a very good way, a spiritual way. And you think to yourself, I could never do that. I could never do that.

Well, you know why? Because you don't need to. The grace of God is sufficient for the moment. God will give you the grace. You see, he doesn't give it to you and say, store it up. He gives it to you and says, my grace is sufficient. When you need it, I'll give it to you. You need to trust me on this. Consequently, what we end up doing is saying, I could never, never do that.

He says, no, no. My grace will be sufficient no matter what you have. So worry is unfaithful because of our master. It's unnecessary because of our Father's care. It's unreasonable because of our faith.

And it's unwise because it robs us of today. Jesus said that money can rob you of your relationship with God. Money can be God's greatest rival in your life. Your ultimate devotion cannot be divided to both.

You must choose what is important in your life. The test of whether this applies to you or not is, do you worry? Even about the necessities of life. He says, do we worry about money and hope that it will solve our problems?

Or do we once and always trust God? No matter what we're facing, it won't really matter. See, that's a test for us. Jesus is trying to get to the heart of it. No man can serve two masters, and that includes you and me.

Let's pray. Father, we find ourself getting so preoccupied with certain details. It's so amazing to me because if you look at all of us that are in this room, you've brought us here today. Through all of the potential things that could have happened to us in our mind, through all those awful things that might happen someday to us, here we are. You've got us to this point. Your promise is that you'll never leave us or forsake us.

You'll always be with us. And even the worst things that we can conjure up in our own mind will not harm us or control us. Because you love us and you are completely in control. Father, may your spirit convict our hearts and ask us this question. Who's my master? Who's my Lord?

And do I worry about things that are future? These are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. May we take them to heart for our good and for your glory.

In Christ's name, Amen. You've been listening to Pastor Bill Gebhardt on the Radio Ministry of Fellowship in the Word. If you ever miss one of our broadcasts or maybe you would just like to listen to the message one more time, remember that you can go to a great website called OnePlace.com. That's OnePlace.com and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online.

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